Bedclothes anchor



Nov. 13, 1956 G. H. WOODFORD BEDCLOTHES ANCHOR Filed Jan. 22, 1954 Q noi T 0 F m5 n36 mm. V H m w 2 m u 6 Y m E W BEDCLOTHES ANCHOR George H.Woodford, Lexington, Va. Application-January 22, 1954, Serial No.405,562

2 Claims. (Cl. -320).

This invention relates to a bedclothes anchor.

An object of the invention is to provide a bedclothes anchor which isadapted to hold bedclothes in place at the foot of a bed Withoutimpinging upon the sleeping surface of the bed or interfering with thefreedom of movement of the sleeper upon the bed.

Another object of the invention is to provide a bedclothes anchor whichmay quickly and easily be engaged with and disengaged from thebedclothes.

Another object of the invention is to provide a bedclothes anchor whichis simple in design, easy to apply to the bed, compact andinconspicuous, and inexpensive to produce.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear in the courseof the following description considered in conjunction with the attacheddrawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a device according to the presentinvention mounted on a bed.

Figure 2 is a view taken along the line 2-2 of Figure 1 on an enlargedscale and showing in broken lines the position of the anchor of thepresent invention when disengaged from the bedclothes.

Figure 3 is a view taken along the line 33 of Figure 2.

Referring now to the drawing in more detail, the numeral 1 designates abed having a pair of legs 2 supporting the foot thereof. An upstandingrod 3 is positioned at the laterally outward side of each of the legs 2and is mounted thereon by an inverted L-shaped bracket 4 each of whichconsists of an upright bar 5 flattened at its lower end and a laterallyoutwardly projecting arm 6 connected at one end on the upper end of thebar 5 and having an aperture 6. A set screw 7 is threaded through theportion of the arm 6 surrounding the aperture 6'. The flattened lowerportion of the bar 5 is secured to the laterally outward side of therelated leg 2 by means of screws 8. The lower ends of the rods 3 dependthrough the apertures of the arms 6 and are held rigidly therein by setscrews 7.

An inverted U-shaped frame 9 extends transversely of the foot of thebed 1. The frame 9 consists of a pair of depending spaced bars 10 havingtheir upper ends bent toward each other and slidably received in theopposite ends of a sleeve 11, and the bent portions of the bars and thesleeve 11 constituting the bight 12 of the U-shaped frame 9. The sleeve11 embodies an inner tube 13 of metal or other rigid material and anouter tube 14 of rubber or other resilient friction material. By virtueof the slidable connection between the bars 10 and the sleeve 11, thebars 10 may be moved toward or away from each other to adapt the widthsof the frame 9 to the width of different beds. Each of the bars 10 ofthe frame 9 is connected to the related rod 3 for swinging movement ofthe frame 9 from its erect position, as shown in Figure l, to adepending inoperative position, as shown in broken lines in Figure 2.The lower ends of the bars 10 are flattened and overlap fiattenedportions on the upper ends of. the rods 3. Pivot pins 15, enlarged atboth ends to prevent displacement,

extend through the overlapping flattened portions of the legs'10 and therods 3, as shown in Figure 3,.to mount theframe 9 hingedly on the upperends of the rods 3;

When the frame 9 is in its erect position, the bight 12- lies alongand'presses' against the adjacent-portion: of. 18 on the bed, as shownin Figures 1 and 2,. making; When. the position, it hangs freely,outofbedclothes the resilient outer covering 14 of the sleeve- 11! firmfrictional contact with the'bedclothes. frame 9 is in its depressedcontact with the bedclothes:

Means areprovided upon the bars 10, engageablewith.

the rods 3, for releasably holdingv theframe 9 iniits erect sleeve 16carried position. The means consists: of a upon each bar 10 and slidableover the overlapping portions of the bars 10 and rods 3 to prevent themovement of the frame from its erect position. A lug 17 projects fromeach rod 3 adjacent and below its flattened upper portion thereof toprevent the sleeve 16 from sliding downwardly below the overlappingportions.

The above described device is particularly adapted for Hollywood typebeds which have no upstanding framework at the foot thereof and whosesupporting legs are customarily made of wood, but the anchor may be usedwith other types of beds. The frame 9 is placed on its pendantinoperative position, as shown in broken lines in Figure 2, when the bedis being made up. In beds of other than the Hollywood type, it may beimpossible to move the frame 9 fully to the pendant position, but it ismoved as far toward its pendant position as the foot structure of thebed will permit and will thus be sufficiently out of the Way to permitthe making of the bed. After the bedclothes are in place, the frame 9 israised to its erect position. With the frame in its erect position thesleeves 16 move down of their own weight to rest upon the lugs 17,covering the hinged connection between the frame 9 and the rods 3 andlocking the frame in its erect position. In this position the bight 12is pressed against the bedclothes along the line at which they areturned downwardly about the mattress or other upper surface of the bed,and the resilient outer tube 14 of the sleeve 11 engages the bedclothesand holds them firmly in place. The proper pressing contact between thebight 12 and the bedclothes may be insured by raising or lowering therods 3 in the bracket arms 6, or lowering the level of the bight 12. Thethe bars 10 and the upper portionsof the the upright corners of thebedclothes at the foot of the bed supplement the grip of the bight 12upon the upper surface of the bedclothes in holding them in place.

10 extend over the sleeping surface of the bed or are in a position inwhich a sleeper will come in contact with them in moving about on thebed. When it is next desired to make up the bed, the sleeves 16 areraised permitting the U-shaped frame 9 to swing away from its erectposition and out of contact with the bedclothes. In either the erectposition or the pendant position the anchor of the present invention isinconspicuous and compact.

What is claimed is:

1. In a bed, a frame having legs at one end thereof, a bracket on eachof said legs, a vertical rod for each bracket having an upper end, meansreleasably mounting each rod on a related bracket for verticaladjustment elative thereto, an inverted U-shaped frame having dependingbars having lower ends, said U-shaped frame having a bight portionextending between said bars, pivot means pivoting the lower ends of saidbars to the upper ends of said vertical rods to swing on an axisextending along said one end of the bed frame from an erect opera- 3tive position to a pendant inoperative position, holding means actingbetween said rods and said bars for holding said frame in erectposition, and a resilient friction covering on said bight portion forfrictional holding engagement with bed clothes on said one end of thebed frame. 2. In a bed, a frame having legs at one end thereof, abracket on each of said legs, avertical rod for each bracket having anupper end, means releasably mounting each rod on a related bracket forvertical adjustment relative thereto, an inverted U-shaped frame havingdepending bars having lower ends, said U-shaped frame having a bightportion extending between said bars, pivot means pivoting the lower endsof said bars to the upper ends of said vertical rods to swing on an axisextending along said one end of the bed frame from an erect operativeposition to a pend-ant inoperative position, holding means actingbetween said rods and said bars for holding said frame in erectposition, and a resilient friction cover- 7 ing on said bight portionfor frictional holding engagement with bed clothes on said one end ofthe bed frame, said bight portion of the bed-frame comprising horizontallaterally inwardly projecting portions on said bars, and a sleeve havingopen ends in which the ends of said horizontal portions are slidablyengaged, said sleeve carrying said resilient friction covering.

References Cited in the file of this patent FOREIGN PATENTS 229,146Great Britain Feb. 19, 1925

